Hemel Hempstead Rail Disruption

8 August 2014, 11:25 | Updated: 8 August 2014, 11:31

Train passengers into London will face disruption this weekend, due to the closure of part of the railway line in Hertfordshire.

Work on £81 million improvements at Watford means that the West Coast line will be closed between Euston station in London and Hemel Hempstead tomorrow and Sunday.

The work is expected to mean a journey from Milton Keynes into central London, which normally takes around 30 minutes, is expected to take up to three hours.

There will be further closures for the following two weekends too, from Saturday August 16 to Monday August 18 and also from Saturday August 23 to bank holiday Monday August 25.

The work will mean disruption on services run by Virgin Trains, London Midland, London Overground and Southern, with some disruption continuing on Monday.

The closure will affect travellers on the West Coast as far from London as the north west of England. 

During the closures, London Midland will be running train services as far south as Hemel Hempstead, with alternative road transport between Hemel Hempstead and Stanmore Underground station (calling at stations along the route) approximately every 30 minutes.

An NR spokesman said: "We're investing tens of millions of pounds in August to build a bigger and better railway.

Working over the quieter summer period means that disruption is kept to a minimum, but it will inevitably mean changes to journeys for some football fans.

We know that many people rely on rail to follow their teams, which is why we have been working closely with football clubs across the country to make sure they're aware of what we're doing and can help advise fans of the best way to get to games.''